Electos - Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How can I change the five predefined text styles?
In Electos 1.0 you CANNOT change the name of the styles or add custom styles. You CAN however change the look of the existing five styles. This is done by editing the Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) used to define the styles. The predefines styles are defined for each website separately in "ElectosStyles.css" located in the:-

"..\Electos\Websites\<websitename>\AppHTML\Css"

directory. In this style sheet you will find all specific characteristic for the five predefines styles ("heading1", "heading 2" "heading 3", "normal" and "body text red") and the default for the "title" and "text" field of an Electos document. You can edit the style using notepad or other text editor. For more information on CSS please refer to: http://www.htmlhelp.com/reference/css

Q: What does 'Label' mean for a page/category?
Labels are used to identify a page/category/multi-item page from within you ASP templates. Navigation in Electos is based on a variable named 'pageid' which determines the page that should be shown. Unfortunately this allows for only one page to be shown at a time (there is only one pageid variable). What if you for instance wanted to print the last five news items on your home page alongside the normal text for the homepage identified by the pageid? You need the pageid of the multi-item page used for your news to print that content. This is where the Label comes in. Labels are used as a unique identifier for pages/categories/multi-item pages on your website. When you set the label for a page/category/multi-item page you can use the "PageIDByLabel" function of the Electos Publisher to retrieve its pageid regardless of the page that is currently shown. This specific id can than be used to print the content.

Q: How can I use International or special characters in Electos?
If you want to add a character like "€", "®" or "æ" to your Electos content, you must make sure the character is available in the codepage you use on the machine Electos is installed on. If the character is not in the codepage set for the machine it cannot be stored in the DB and will therefore be transformed to a question mark indicating the character is not understood. There are two solutions to this problem:

1) Change the servers codepage to one that contains all characters you wish to use. Note that this settings is global for the webserver and may therefore effect the appearance of other (web) applications

2) Use the equivalent HTML entity of the character you wish to use. While in the source mode of the text editor you can type in '€' to get a €-symbol. ® can be added with '®' and æ as 'æ'. For a complete list of HTML character entities visit http://www.htmlhelp.com/reference/html40/entities/ or http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/sgml/entities.html

Q: Adding a new page generates an error stating the name already exists but I can't find it. What's wrong?
When you create a new document to add to your website (not assign an existing one) two steps are taken: a new document is created and added to your content and a new page is created that refers to this new document. For both creations a check is build in to make sure the name is unique. If the page name is unique in the category you are adding it to, the document name probably already exist. In Electos 1.0 you cannot determine the document name when creating a new page; it will always use the name you supply for the page. You can avoid this problem by creating a new document in the content screen (click "New document") and create the new page by selecting an existing document (the one you just created).

Q: How do I change the page design of Electos Websites or implement completely new designs?
In Electos, page content and page layout/website design are stored separately. The page content is stored in Electos' database and you can change this using the Electos Studio. The page-layout and website design are stored in ASP files named ASP templates which are located in the "..\Electos\Websites\<websitename>\AppHtml\" directory. To change your website design all you need to do is change these files which consist of HTML formatting and ASP scripting. For more information on how to build and edit ASP templates please refer to the "Creating Electos Website Design" chapter in the Electos documentation.

Q: How can I create an internal link to a page and keep this page from appearing in the navigation menu?
In the demo website, the "PrintMenu" function is used to create a navigation menu based on a specific level in your website structure. This publisher function will create a menu containing all activated pages, categories and multi-item page in that specific level. If you want to create a page that you don't want to add to the navigation menu, the most common way to do so is creating a new dummy category and add to it the page you wish to link. Now make sure the page is activated, so it will be published on your website, and the category it is placed in is deactivated, so the category will not be added to the navigation menu.

Q: Is it possible to create and maintain websites that make use of frames in Electos 1.0?
Yes, you can maintain websites build with frames with Electos 1.0 as long as you make sure that all links are opened in the right frame.

White paper: Building Websites with frames.pdf

Q: Can I increase the maximum upload size of 9MB?
Yes. Electos makes use of a free ASP script named "pure-ASP". This upload script has a maximum upload size of 9MB. Besides this free upload script a commercial version named "Huge-ASP" is available that allows file sizes up to 2GB. If you buy this upload component and make some minor changes to the Electos files you can remove the maximum upload size. For more information on the exact differences between Pure-ASP and Huge-ASP and prices, please refer to http://www.pstruh.cz/help/scptutl/upload.asp.

White paper: Increasing the maximum upload size.pdf

Q: Can I move my website from one machine to another?
Yes, you can move your website from one machine to another without any problems. The most common way to do so is to make sure a website with the same name already exists on the new machine, overwrite the existing website folder with the new one and make sure the site settings are still valid.

White paper: Moving an Electos website to another server.pdf

Q: Can I make my website available in multiple languages?
Yes. Although Electos doesn't support multiple versions of a document, there are a few ways to make your website available in multiple languages. The most common way to do so is to build separate site structures for all languages you wish to support.

White paper: Multi-lingual websites.pdf

Electos Deployment Options

Q. A developer purchases the Visual DataFlex that comes with Electos Standard Edition. What options does the developer have?

Use the Lite Server that is included with the Studio, to test and evaluate the Electos Standard Edition. Cost: AUD$0.

Purchase a WAS Lite Server for deployment, and run his (single) website for limited use. As said, we don't recommend to that you do this for a real, online website. Cost: AUD$550.

Purchase a WAS Internet Server, and run a single website based on the Electos Standard Edition that comes with his Studio. This site can be visited by an unlimited number of visitors, but no more than one site can be run on the web server. Cost: AUD$3,300.

Purchase a WAS Internet Server plus an Electos Professional Edition. This offers the same functionality as in the previous configuration, but now multiple sites can be deployed on the web server. Also can the web server be used to host websites based on Electos, for third parties. Cost: AUD$3,300 + AUD$1,100 (this is for a 1-CPU web server).

Q. A prospect does not know Visual DataFlex, or Data Access, but has heard about Electos, and would like to evaluate the product. How can they do that?
Download the Visual DataFlex Studio evaluation by clicking here, install that, and evaluate the Electos Standard Edition.

Q. Someone has evaluated Electos and now would like to deploy a site based on Electos, what are his options?

Possible, but not recommended: Purchase a WAS Lite Server. This allows him to run Electos Standard Edition on Lite. AUD$550.

Recommended: Purchase a WAS Internet Server, and run Electos Standard on it. Cost: AUD$3,300.

Q. Someone has evaluated Electos and would like to deploy multiple sites on it, or wants to host (multiple sites) on it. What are his options?
Purchase a WAS Internet Server, and purchase an Electos Professional Edition. Cost: AUD$3,300 + AUD$1,100 (this is for a 1-CPU web server).

Q. A developer wants to use Electos as standard CMS, but wants to add extra functionality and deploy on his own WAS Server. What can he do?

Find out if he can add functionality by changing the ASP-template and use the standard functions of Electos; this is often the case. Cost: AUD$0.

If the developer has a registered WAS Server (AUD$550/Lite or AUD$3,300 for 1-CPU), and an Electos Professional Edition (AUD$1,100) he can purchase a Developer Edition. Cost AUD$2,200. The full source-code that comes with it, allows him to build a custom-version. The developer needs to sign a special source-code license prior to purchase.

Q. A developer wants to take Electos as standard CMS, but wants to build extra functionality and sell custom-versions of Electos to third parties. What's involved?
As previously above plus the following applies:

For each sale of a custom-version of Electos, he needs to purchase an Electos Professional Edition for his customer. Cost AUD$1,100.

The developer must leave the registration mechanisms in place, so that each sold custom-version will be sold and registered as a Professional Edition. Cost per customer AUD$1,100.

The customer needs to purchase (or have) a registered WAS Server to run Electos. Cost for a WAS Lite Server AUD$550, for a WAS Internet Server AUD$3,300.

The developer needs to have a registered license of the Visual DataFlex Studio. Cost AUD$1,650.

The developer needs to sign a special source-code license prior to purchase.

Visual DataFlex is loaded with the advanced features that developers demand, including an advanced Studio for fast, easy visual development, easy integration of COM Automation and Active-X controls, Data Aware Controls without the need for custom programming, Data Dictionary Objects that encapsulate your business rules and validations for unmatched data integrity, reusable components, automatic multi-user applications, and increased return on investment (ROI) through a proven client/server database application architecture.

Telephone Support

When you purchase a Visual DataFlex or Electos product you are entitled to Free Installation Support for the first 30 days from the date of purchase. Program anomalies will be addressed at no charge and updaters posted on our web site. Evaluation and other support issues will be subject to a A$33.00 per incident fee. Make sure you have the Serial Number of your purchased product and call 03 9761 3644 or +61 3 9761 3644 during our normal office business hours between 9am to 5pm week days Australian EST (with the exception of Public Holidays).